Editorial: Medical Marijuana Bill Suffers from Compromise
June 9, 2009
CentralJersey.com (Princeton, NJ)
Compromises limiting the scope of proposed medical-marijuana legislation may make sense politically, but it remains to be seen whether the changes make sense medically.
The bill, the "New Jersey Compassionate Use Medical Marijuana Act," cleared the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee last week and now goes to the full Assembly. The Senate approved a version of the bill in February.
The Assembly bill, however, is a far cry from the one passed by the Senate.
Under the Senate bill, patients suffering from debilitating medical conditions — such as cancer, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS or other chronic diseases whose treatment results in wasting, severe or chronic pain or nausea, seizures, severe and persistent muscle spasms — would be allowed to use marijuana to alleviate symptoms. Patients would be required to register with the state Department of Health and Senior Services and receive a photo identification and then be allowed to possess as many as six marijuana plants and an ounce of usable marijuana. Marijuana would remain an illegal substance in all other circumstances, under the legislation.
The Assembly bill, however, places significant restrictions on the kinds of illnesses covered and eliminates the right of patients to grow their own plants while forcing them to acquire the drug through an "alternative treatment center." It also requires that the patient’s primary care physician write the prescription (to eliminate "doctor shopping") and eliminate a provision that would have allowed caregivers to pick up marijuana for their charges.
The revisions, according to supporters, should make the legislation more likely to get through the Assembly, which should be the primary goal. Patients suffering from wasting syndrome due to HIV/AIDS or cancer, seizure disorders and other debilitating maladies can benefit from smoking small amounts of marijuana, because it reduces nausea, relieves pain and stimulates appetite.
Plus, as patients and their families pointed out during hearings before both the Senate and the Assembly, the alternatives — synthetic substitutes like Marinol — tend to have equally debilitating side-effects.
We are hopeful that the full Assembly will approve the medical marijuana bill and the Senate and Assembly can bridge the differences and get the legislation to the governor. Once that is accomplished, however, we believe the Legislature should revisit some of the amendments with an eye toward making the legislation less restrictive — especially the prohibition against patients growing their own plants, which would be a lot more affordable for patients and those proscribing specific illnesses.
These are decisions best left to doctors and patients. |
